April 08, 2014

Majumder on lab confirmation of Ebola

As the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa continues, 56 cases have been lab-confirmed out of 169 total (suspected + confirmed) thus far [CDC - 2014]. That’s around 33%.

A lot of folks have been wondering why that percentage is “so low”… But compared to other Ebola outbreaks? It’s really not.

For this particular disease, which requires a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facility to diagnose and has historically been constrained to some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the world, 33% confirmation is pretty great. [Especially given that the outbreak is ongoing and not all samples have been tested yet!]

From 1976 til now, about 2500 cases of Ebola have been recorded throughout the African continent. Less than 25% of them were ever lab-confirmed.

Here’s to progress! – and to the men and women who risk their lives every day to make it happen.

Comments

As the current outbreak of Ebola in West Africa continues, 56 cases have been lab-confirmed out of 169 total (suspected + confirmed) thus far [CDC - 2014]. That’s around 33%.

A lot of folks have been wondering why that percentage is “so low”… But compared to other Ebola outbreaks? It’s really not.

For this particular disease, which requires a Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4) facility to diagnose and has historically been constrained to some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the world, 33% confirmation is pretty great. [Especially given that the outbreak is ongoing and not all samples have been tested yet!]

From 1976 til now, about 2500 cases of Ebola have been recorded throughout the African continent. Less than 25% of them were ever lab-confirmed.

Here’s to progress! – and to the men and women who risk their lives every day to make it happen.